I would like to present you with a few pastry recipes that make good use of all these leftovers.
By PASCALE PEREZ-RUBINLAYERED FOCACCIA (photo credit: AVI MIZRAHI)
The Shavuot holiday has come and gone, but many of us have bountiful quantities of cheese, milk, cream and yogurt left over in the fridge, which we wouldn’t want to go to waste. There are all the soft cheeses – labaneh, ricotta, mascarpone; the semi-hard cheeses – Brie, Camembert; the hard cheeses – Parmesan, kashkaval, Gouda, Emmental, Emek; and the salty cheeses – Tzfat, Bulgarian, feta. And oftentimes we have leftover bread, fresh vegetables and fruits, eggs and fish (especially salmon).I would like to present you with a few pastry recipes that make good use of all these leftovers. Everyone loves the incredible smell of pastry baking in the oven. All of these can be served as appetizers or desserts, or even as the main dish.To this end, I turned to renowned pastry chef Sa’ar Mor. Here are three of his recipes that combine bread and cheese.The recipes call for using a cup as a measurement equaling 240 ml.POLENTA MADE WITH OATSUse 2 loaf pans (not disposable)Makes 20-24 slices300 gr. (2½ cups) oats (not instant)400 gr. (1¾ cups) milk or milk mixed with sweet cream25 gr. (¼ package) butter½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated coarsely½ cup kashkaval or mozzarella cheese, grated coarsely½ cup mixture of sunflower and pumpkin seeds and pine nuts (optional)A little nutmeg, gratedSalt and pepper, to tasteGrind one-third of the oats coarsely in a food processor.In a large pot, cook the rest of the oats. Stir constantly until oats begin to emit a fragrant aroma. Be careful not to let oats burn.Add ground oats to pot and then add a little milk while stirring.Lower the flame to medium-low and cook while stirring constantly. Keep adding more liquid when needed. When all of the liquid has been absorbed, add the butter, cheeses and spices. When the mixture becomes thick, add the seeds and remove from flame. Stir.Grease the pans and line with baking paper. Leave lots of paper hanging over the edge and make sure these parts are greased, too.Pour mixture in pans so that they’re ²⁄3 full. Flatten mixture and then fold down extra baking paper. Cover with plastic wrap and put in fridge for 8 hours. Remove from fridge and slice into slices that are 1½ cm. thick. Grease a grill pan with ridges lightly with olive oil and toast slices until they turn dark. Remove them carefully and serve as a base for cheese and vegetables.SALTY MONKEYSUse 2 large (or 3 medium) Kugelhopf pans1 kg. (7 cups + 2½ Tbsp.) cold white spelt flour, sifted100 gr. (½ cup) white or demerara sugar18 gr. (1½ Tbsp.) dry yeast or 50 gr. (cube) fresh yeast300 gr. (1¼ cups) cold milk300 gr. (1¼ cups) cold water18 gr. (2½ tsp.) salt100 gr. cold butter, cut into small cubes50 gr. (½ cup) pine nuts, roasted and chopped¼ tsp. black pepper1 tsp. thyme leavesAdditions:250 gr. Brie or Camembert cheese, or other blue cheese, cut into small cubes50 gr. (¼ cup) olive oil or melted butter½ cup mixture of coarsely chopped herbs: thyme, basil, oregano, dill and rosemaryMix the flour with the sugar and yeast. Pour water and milk into the bowl of an electric mixer with a dough hook. Add the flour, and mix on low speed for 3 minutes.Add the salt and continue mixing for another 5 minutes. Gradually add the butter cubes. When it’s finished mixing, add the pine nuts, black pepper and thyme leaves. Mix another 30 seconds.Transfer dough to a greased work surface and knead dough. Return dough to the bowl, cover and let sit for 20 minutes. Knead dough again and let rise for another 20 minutes. Repeat a third time. Cover and put in the fridge for an hour. Take out of the fridge and let rest on your work surface for 10 minutes.Separate dough into balls that are 15, 20 and 25 grams (about the size of a Ping-Pong ball). Fill the balls with cheese cubes and then roll them in your hand until they’re round again.Fill a bowl with olive oil or butter and another bowl with chopped herbs. Take some of the cubes and roll in oil/butter, then in the herbs. Leave some of the balls without coating.Spray Kugelhopf pan with oil spray. Fill with balls in an organized fashion or haphazardly until pan is ¾ full. You can sprinkle with pine nuts and thyme, if you like.Cover and let sit in a warm place until balls double in volume (should fall over edges of pan).Place a bowl with boiling water in an oven that has been preheated to 180º. Place pan with dough in oven and bake for 10 minutes. Remove bowl of water and lower temperature to 170º and continue baking for another 20- 25 minutes. For the last 10 minutes of baking, remove dough from the pan and place on a flat tray. In this way, all of the dough will become crispy and golden brown. Remove and place on a rack. Serve hot.LAYERED FOCACCIA Makes 1 large or 2 medium focaccia 500 gr. (3½ cups) white spelt flour, sifted35 gr. (3 Tbsp.) sugar8 gr. (level Tbsp.) dry yeast or 25 gr. (½ cube) fresh yeast300 gr. (1¼ cups) cold water50 gr. (¼ cup) olive oil10 gr. (1½ tsp.) kosher saltAdditions:1 cup mixture of cheeses: mozzarella, Parmesan, Gouda or blue cheese (if you’re so inclined), grated coarsely½ cup leftover tomato lasagna or pasta sauceAntipasti vegetables: roasted peppers, eggplant, zucchini, leeks, kohlrabi, cherry tomatoesFresh basil and thyme¼ cup Parmesan cheese, grated finelyOlive oilKosher saltIn a bowl, mix flour with sugar and yeast. In the bowl of an electric mixer with a dough hook, pour in water. Add the oil and mix. Add the flour mixture and mix on low speed for 3 minutes. Add the salt and mix for another 5 minutes.Transfer dough to a lightly greased work surface and knead. Return to bowl, cover and let sit for 20 minutes. Then take out and knead again and then let rise for 20 minutes again. Repeat a third time. Cover and let sit in the fridge for an hour. Take dough out of fridge and let rest on work surface for 10 minutes.Separate into 3 balls. Rub them with olive oil and let rise, covered, for 30 minutes.Roll out each ball on a floured work surface with a rolling pin into a rectangle that is 15 cm. x 30 cm. and ½ cm. thick.Place baking paper on a tray that has been flipped over. Sprinkle with semolina or coarse durum flour. Place first layer of rolled out dough on baking paper and brush off any extra flour. Spread tomato sauce on top and sprinkle with basil. Place second layer of dough on top and spread with olive oil. Sprinkle on cheeses and antipasti, kosher salt and thyme.Place third layer of dough on top and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and kosher salt. Let rise 10 minutes.Bake in an oven that has been preheated to 180º. Let tray heat up inside oven and then place baking paper and then focaccia on hot tray. Bake for 10 minutes at this relatively low temperature to let focaccia bake evenly and cheese begin to bubble. Raise temperature to 230º and turn it to turbo. Bake for another 10 minutes until focaccia turns golden brown, the cheese spills out the sides, and the bottom is crispy.Remove from the oven, peel off baking paper and place on a raised wire rack for a few minutes. Transfer to a cutting board and slice using a sharp knife or a pizza cutter. Serve hot.Translated by Hannah Hochner.
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